Simonsen C, et al. - Given the association of sarcopenia with poor survival in gastrointestinal cancer patients, researchers evaluated sarcopenia as a predictor of postoperative risk of major and total complications after surgery for gastrointestinal cancer. Performing a systematic search for citations in EMBASE, Web of Science, and PubMed from 2004 to January 31, 2017, they included 29 studies (n = 7176) with sarcopenia prevalence ranging between 12% and 78%. Outcomes revealed an increased risk of complications after gastrointestinal tumor resection in association with sarcopenia. However, a lack of methodological consensus hampers the interpretation and clinical utilization of these findings. They suggest combining assessment of muscle mass with measures of physical function as helpful in increasing prognostic value and accuracy in preoperative risk stratification.